# ClauseCatgConfiguration Metadata Type Guide

> ClauseCatgConfiguration defines clause categories used in Salesforce Contracts Lifecycle Management (CLM) to classify, filter, and govern standard and fallback legal clauses.

- Source: https://sfdxtalk.com/docs/metadata/clause-catg-configuration-metadata-type/
- Category: Metadata
- Applies to: Salesforce Winter '27 (API version 68.0)
- Level: intermediate
- Published: 2026-11-12
- Last updated: 2026-11-12
- Publisher: SFDX Talk Editorial (unofficial; not affiliated with or endorsed by Salesforce)
- License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

## Architectural Overview

In Salesforce Contracts Lifecycle Management (CLM) and Revenue Cloud, enterprise legal teams maintain a central Clause Library containing standard, fallback, and alternate contract clauses. The `ClauseCatgConfiguration` metadata type defines the structural **Clause Categories** (for example, *Data Privacy & GDPR*, *Intellectual Property*, *Limitation of Liability*, and *Governing Law*) used to classify those clauses.

Because `ClauseCatgConfiguration` is a first-class Metadata API type rather than volatile record data, architects can version-control the legal clause taxonomy in Git and promote it reliably alongside contract approval [Flow](/docs/metadata/flow-metadata-type/) definitions and document generation templates.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A["ClauseCatgConfiguration"] --> B["Category: Limitation_of_Liability"]
    A --> C["Category: Data_Privacy_GDPR"]
    B --> D["DocumentClauseSet (Standard & Fallback Clauses)"]
    C --> D
    D --> E["Generated Contract Document & Redline Review"]
```

## Directory Location and File Suffix

In Salesforce DX projects, `ClauseCatgConfiguration` files are stored in the `clauseCatgConfigurations` folder.

| Property | Value |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Directory Path (SFDX)** | `force-app/main/default/clauseCatgConfigurations/` |
| **File Suffix (SFDX)** | `.clauseCatgConfiguration-meta.xml` |
| **Classic Metadata Suffix** | `.clauseCatgConfiguration` |
| **Metadata Type Name** | `ClauseCatgConfiguration` |

## Key Metadata Fields

The following table lists the key XML elements of `ClauseCatgConfiguration` in API version `68.0` (Winter '27):

| Field Name | Field Type | Required | Architectural Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `masterLabel` | `string` | Yes | The human-readable name of the clause category displayed in the Clause Library UI. |
| `usageType` | `string` | Yes | Defines the functional domain where the clause category is used, such as `ContractLifecycleManagement`. |
| `description` | `string` | No | Explains the legal scope and approval requirements for clauses assigned to this category. |
| `parentCategory` | `string` | No | Optional developer name of a parent `ClauseCatgConfiguration` when building hierarchical clause taxonomies. |

## Declarative Metadata Example

The following `ClauseCatgConfiguration` metadata file defines a `Limitation_of_Liability` category for Contract Lifecycle Management:

```xml title="force-app/main/default/clauseCatgConfigurations/Limitation_of_Liability.clauseCatgConfiguration-meta.xml"
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ClauseCatgConfiguration xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <description>Covers standard, mutual, and super-cap limitation of liability clauses requiring Legal Counsel review upon deviation.</description>
    <masterLabel>Limitation of Liability</masterLabel>
    <usageType>ContractLifecycleManagement</usageType>
</ClauseCatgConfiguration>
```

### Package Manifest (`package.xml`)

```xml title="manifest/package.xml"
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Package xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
    <types>
        <members>Limitation_of_Liability</members>
        <name>ClauseCatgConfiguration</name>
    </types>
    <version>68.0</version>
</Package>
```

## SOQL Queries and SFDX CLI Commands

You can query `ClauseCatgConfiguration` via SOQL or Tooling API to inspect configured legal clause categories in an org:

```soql
SELECT Id, DeveloperName, MasterLabel, UsageType, Description
FROM ClauseCatgConfiguration
ORDER BY MasterLabel ASC
```

Retrieve and deploy clause categories with the Salesforce CLI (`sf`):

```bash
# Retrieve all ClauseCatgConfiguration components
sf project retrieve start --metadata ClauseCatgConfiguration

# Deploy a specific ClauseCatgConfiguration component
sf project deploy start --metadata ClauseCatgConfiguration:Limitation_of_Liability
```

## Architect Best Practices and Gotchas

> [!TIP]
> When designing hierarchical clause categories using `parentCategory`, include both the parent and child `ClauseCatgConfiguration` components in the same `package.xml` deployment so Salesforce resolves the self-referential hierarchy in a single pass.

- **Prerequisite Contract Settings:** Ensure Salesforce Contracts (`ContractSettings` / CLM license) is enabled in the target org before deploying `ClauseCatgConfiguration`, or the deployment will fail with an invalid type error.
- **Stable Developer Names:** Avoid changing the filename (`DeveloperName`) of a deployed `ClauseCatgConfiguration` once `DocumentClauseSet` records in production reference it; update `<masterLabel>` instead if Legal renames a category.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is the purpose of ClauseCatgConfiguration in Salesforce Contracts?

It defines the taxonomy of legal clause categories (such as Indemnification, Limitation of Liability, or Confidentiality) used to organize Document Clause Sets in Salesforce Contracts Lifecycle Management.

### Where are ClauseCatgConfiguration files located in SFDX source format?

They are stored in the force-app/main/default/clauseCatgConfigurations/ directory with the .clauseCatgConfiguration-meta.xml file extension.

### Why should legal clause categories be managed as metadata rather than plain data records?

Managing ClauseCatgConfiguration as metadata ensures that contract generation templates, approval flows, and AI clause extraction rules reference identical category developer names across all sandboxes and production.

### Which feature must be enabled in the target org to deploy ClauseCatgConfiguration?

Salesforce Contracts (Contract Lifecycle Management) must be enabled in the target org before deploying ClauseCatgConfiguration components.

## Official References

- https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/api-metadata/references/meta-types/metadata-clausecatgconfiguration.md